Introduction
Andrew Saunders’ first book features Phil the helpful but nosey village postie, who chats with people on his round and writes their happenings into his book. Most of his short stories are set in his hometown of Muckle Pott, a fictional village in Aberdeenshire.
Andrew Saunders.
‘Career’ notes.
When I was at school, I had a Saturday job scraping blood off the shelves in the back rooms of a butcher’s shop. But, my first full-time position, was in a nuclear power station. I didn’t enjoy that much, so to add some interest, I worked part-time as a mole-catcher, poacher and gravedigger.
I trained as a psychiatric nurse and did that for several years. In 1984, my wife and I moved to Orkney where we ran a small croft and fixed up the derelict house. We flitted to a farm in Aberdeenshire where we repaired another derelict house. I became a student at the University of Aberdeen, graduating with an MA Combined Studies degree. With that, I taught English as a Foreign Language in the Czech Republic.
On coming home to our farm in Aberdeenshire, I worked as a newspaper reporter before returning to farming where we kept cattle, sheep and willow. For the last eighteen years I have been a piano and singing tutor. In 2023/24, I returned to the University of Aberdeen, receiving the Post Graduate Diploma in Creative Writing.
Over the past few years, I have written and produced three short films for the Doric Film Festival in Aberdeen; written two murder-mystery plays, comedy sketches and pantomimes, all performed on the amateur stage.
Andrew Saunders Books
My first book, ‘Muckle Pott’, was published in 2025. It’s available (£6.00 plus postage) by phoning Orb’s Bookshop, Huntly on 01466 793765, or by emailing the shop at huntly.heritage@btopenworld.com
It is also available in Huntly at Dean’s of Huntly Gift Shop; No 30 The Square; and the Ethical Gift Shop in Duke Street. In Insch at N.S. Wilson’s Chemist, the Co-op, Bennachie Leisure Centre and Louis’ Little Haven. And in Keith at Paterson’s in Mid Street.
The book contains sixteen short stories set in the fictional Aberdeenshire village of Muckle Pott. Some of the tales are narrated by Phil the nosey village postie who meets folk on his round, gathers their unusual stories and writes them into his book.
